RCA 6089
Producer: Joan Deary
Track listing: Introduction: Also Sprach Zarathustra (Theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey) / See See Rider / Burning Love / Something / You Gave Me a Mountain / Steamroller Blues / My Way / Love Me / Johnny B. Goode / It’s Over / Blue Suede Shoes / I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry / I Can’t Stop Loving You / Hound Dog / What Now My Love / Fever / Welcome to My World / Suspicious Minds / Introductions by Elvis / I’ll Remember You / Medley: Long Tall Sally/Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On /American Trilogy / A Big Hunk O’ Love / Can’t Help Falling in Love
1 week
May 5, 1973
Following the success of Roustabout, Elvis Presley continued to make what his onetime guitarist Scotty Moore calls “rubber-stamp movies,” yet the films and their accompanying soundtracks began to decline in popularity. In fact, Girl Happy and Harum Scarum, both released in 1965, were the only two post-Roustabout soundtracks to crack the top 10.
The King had to wait more than three years for his next top 10 hit, which was simply titled Elvis. The LP, culled from a December 1968 NBC-TV program, often referred to as the “comeback special,” was Presley’s first live album. It reached number eight in February 1969. On July 26 of that year, Elvis played his first live date in eight years at the International Hotel in Las Vegas. Joining Elvis in his band was guitarist James Burton, who, like Elvis, was an alumnus of the Louisiana Hayride.
After Elvis, Presley released four more live albums, including Elvis as Recorded at Madison Square Garden, which peaked at number I I in August 1972. While most artists are lucky if they can release one successful live album, Elvis hadn’t grown tired of the format yet.
In January 1973, Elvis and his entourage flew to Hawaii for a special event — a TV show to be beamed live via satellite from the Honolulu International Center to Japan and the Far East. Fans in America would have to wait for a taped version to air on April 4 on NBC-TV.
On January 13, Elvis and his band went in for a rehearsal session to make sure the cameras were in the proper position. “We rehearsed a bunch of things,” Burton recalls. “While everyone else was taking a break, I was just playing around, messing with some tunes and I started playing the old Hank Williams song ‘I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.’ Elvis came over and said, ‘What’s that? It sounds real familiar.’ I told him and then he started singing it. He loved it so much he put it in the show.”
Although the two-record Aloha From Hawaii via Satellite featured six songs that were included on the Madison Square Garden live album, it did offer something new for Elvis’s fans. “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” was one of eight songs that had never appeared on an Elvis album. Others included covers of the Beatles’ “Something,” Paul Anka’s “My Way,” and James Taylor’s “Steamroller Blues.”
The show was held on January 14 and beamed to an estimated 1 billion viewers. Elvis was ready. “He was great form, looking great, and in great health,” says Burton. Presley was on such a high that a special matinee show benefiting the Kuiokalani Lee Cancer Fund was held the day of the telecast. The benefit raised $75,000. Elvis performed Lee’s best-known song “I’ll Remember You” during both shows.
After the show was completed, all agreed it was a triumph. “Everyone felt so good about it, including the crew members, the staff, and the television people,” says Burton. “We had a great get-together after the show that night and Elvis was very happy. Everyone was inspired by the whole thing.”
In its 11th week on the chart, Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite became Elvis’s first Number One album since Roustabout in 1965. It was the King’s ninth and final album chart-topper. On August 16, 1977, Presley was found unconscious in a Graceland bathroom. He was rushed to a hospital, but it was too late. The King was gone at the age of 42.
THE TOP FIVE
Week of May 5, 1973
1. Aloha from Hawaii Via Satellite, Elvis Presley
2. Houses of the Holy, Led Zeppelin
3. The Best of Bread, Bread
4. The Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd
5. Billion Dollar Babies, Alice Cooper